Office Depot’s 4Q loss grows to $144 million

Posted: 02/25/2014, 01:30am | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Office Depot Inc.’s fourth-quarter loss grew as expenses jumped for the office supply retailer while it worked to integrate OfficeMax Inc., an acquisition it completed in the quarter.

The Boca Raton, Fla., company said Tuesday it lost $144 million, or 34 cents per share, in the three months that ended Dec. 28, versus a loss of $17 million, or 6 cents per share, a year earlier.

Its adjusted loss, which excludes some expenses from the OfficeMax deal, totaled 3 cents per share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected, on average, earnings of 3 cents per share.

Office Depot and OfficeMax completed their $1.2 billion deal last November. The combined company then named Roland Smith, a former supermarket executive, as CEO.

Office Depot said the addition of OfficeMax helped its revenue grow, but the company also added $111 million in merger, restructuring and other operating expenses in the quarter. That’s up from only $12 million in the previous year’s quarter.